According to recent reports, Matthew Wolfenden has left Emmerdale after 17 years of portraying shopkeeper David Metcalfe.

Naturally, we are now curious as to how the character will be leaving the story.

Over the past couple of years, Matthew has been involved in a number of high-profile plotlines, such as Meena’s heinous murdering spree that put David’s life in danger and Maya’s grooming of David’s son Jacob (Joe-Warren Plant).

Now, rumors are spreading about how he would depart the program and whether it will be as dramatic as the previous 17 years.

All the theories about David Metcalfe’s exit from Emmerdale

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The lovely thing about Emmerdale is that a character’s exit might take many different forms, including entirely killing them off or leaving the door open for them to come back if they so choose.

There is a fair chance that David may get a job offer elsewhere in the nation or abroad, leaving Emmerdale behind for good, similar to Priya Sharma (Fiona Wade) in recent months.

Having just been forced to sell the store to dad Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell) owing to financial difficulties, maybe David’s fortunes will turn and he’ll be able to purchase a new store somewhere else.

Revenge

Jacob was stabbed by Leyla Harding’s (Roxy Shahidi) drug dealer, Callum, earlier this year, shocking David.

When Callum later kidnapped Leyla, things only became worse because Suzy (Martelle Edinborough) and Jacob soon became involved as well.

Callum was quickly captured after the siege, but it’s possible that he was planned to emerge from hiding in later scenes to exact revenge on Leyla’s family.

Could David find himself in the middle of the conflict and pay a heavy price?

The return of evil Meena

After Victoria and David were the targets of the gruesome serial killer Meena in tense moments, David barely avoided her clutches.

Meena ruined Victoria’s harness out of jealousy that she was getting close to her ex-boyfriend David.

Despite the fact that this attempt failed, much to Meena’s dismay, things quickly turned around for the better when the bridge collapsed, sending her love rival tumbling into the rapids below.

Victoria and David did, however, both live, and we doubt Meena would be overly happy about that.

Could the notorious serial murderer find a method to escape jail so she could complete the murders of David and Victoria?

Tragic death

Characters frequently die tragically in the Emmerdale village as a result of accidents that frequently occur.

There is a good likelihood that David will meet the same end as another major plot thread begins.

He can have a tragic accident when he gets hit by a car or perish in a fire.

In Emmerdale, there are innumerable ways for characters to pass away, and David may die in any of them.